We were promised that USB-C would solve all our connectivity problems. Instead, I have two USB-C ports on this laptop, only one of which is Thunderbolt, which is worse because they look identical but act different. Also apparently only some USB-C cables support Thunderbolt too.

Oh gosh I hadn't heard about USB4 at all yet. Is it going to use the same port as C?

I look at it as: - The goal for 3.0 was to increase the speed an order of magnitude, and set the stage for future increases - The goal for 3.1 was to create a single port to accommodate the need for devices like mobile phones and tablets to work without product-specific adapters

- The goal for USB4 is to clean up some of the mess. So for example, there is no USB 3.1 hub with 3.1 ports, all you have is port expanders. I expect quite a few USB4 hubs, and for many to work with alt modes.